Friday, June 02, 2017

The
vote means that workers has a voice, that can be heard and, if
united, would be heeded. Centuries of struggle and sacrifice were
required to wrest this freedom from the clutches of our tyrants and
place it in our hands. Working people have moved slowly but surely
towards liberty but a necessary step is to sever all relations with
the capitalist parties. They are all alike, differing only in being
committed to different sets of capitalist interests—they have the
same principles under varying colours, are equally corrupt and are
one in their subservience to capital and their hostility to the
working class. Workers who supports pro-capitalist parties forges
their own chains and are the authors of their own misery. They are
voting into office the class enemies of working people. Despite their
shortcomings, elections are still the best method available for
workers to express their desire for socialism. Furthermore, although
parliament run by Labour or Tory politicians is incapable of
controlling the economic system in a rational and humane way, it is
the centre of political control in the advanced industrial
countries. Sadly, on 8 June, the
power
to register a desire to change society in a fundamental way in the
shape of their vote will once again be squandered on pro-capitalist
parties.

Many
parties try seek to make their campaign pledges as palatable as
possible and as attractive as they can by dropping whatever policy
that may give offence that it serves as a bait for votes rather than
as a means of education, and votes thus gained are not sincere votes
of support. The Socialist Party disdains such votes as it does not
legitimately register the degree of agreement nor the progress our
party. Such votes do not properly belong to us and do injustice to
our party as well as to those who cast them. Socialism cannot be
advanced by acquiring fictitious votes. We seek only an actual vote
for socialism, no more and no less. The vote should express the
people’s will. In our campaign we state our principles clearly to
convince fellow-workers and win them over to our cause through an
understanding of our aim and goals. We, of course want the support of
the people, but only of those who trust in socialism and are ready to
vote and work with us for the overthrow of capitalism. The call of
the Socialist Party is to all members of the exploited class to
muster beneath it banner and put an end to the last of the barbarous
class struggles by conquering the state machine, taking possession of
the means of production and making them the common property of all,
abolishing wage-slavery and establishing the co-operative
commonwealth.

Some
left-wingers argue that unity is more important than standing by
principles. They call for electoral alliances with not only
non-socialists but avowedly anti-socialists. No possible good can
come from any such kind of a political alliance with rival parties.
The Socialist Party is made up of men and women who refuse to
compromise with their oppressors; who desire no votes that can be
bought with fake promises and no support under any false pretence
whatsoever. The Socialist Party stands squarely upon its principles
and relies wholly upon the education of the working class. Ignorance
alone stand in the way of socialist success. The capitalist parties
understand this and use their resources to prevent the workers from
seeing the real nature of the capitalist system. Indoctrination is
essential to industrial slavery.

The
Socialist party is not a capitalist party, nor a middle-of-the-road
reformist party, but a revolutionary working class party, whose
objective it is to conquer capitalism on the political battle-field,
take control of the State and through the public powers take
possession of the means of wealth production, abolish wage-slavery
and emancipate all workers and all humanity. With the onslaught of
the environmental crisis the old order of society can survive but
little longer. Socialism is next for the survival of mankind. Soon
that minority will be the majority and then will come the
co-operative commonwealth. Every lover of freedom should support the
Socialist Party as the only party that is organised to abolish wage
slavery, the source of the evils that afflict all the people. The
overthrow of capitalism is the object of the Socialist Party. It will
not fuse with any other party that does not stand for socialism and
it would rather dissolve than compromise. The Socialist Party fully
comprehends the magnitude of its task and has the patience of
preliminary defeat and the faith of ultimate victory. The working
class must be emancipated by the working class so that society must
be reconstructed by the working class.

From
the day of its foundation the Socialist Party has struggled
consistently to use every opportunity provided by the parliamentary
system in Britain to further the struggle for socialism, and to voice
the case for socialism. However, at the present time, the very
electoral system itself, based upon the deposit system and the
electoral machinery of the capitalist parties in each constituency,
make it extremely difficult for a party to even put up a candidate.
Socialism can only be established by the majority political action of
a working class that wants and understands it. To establish
socialism, the working class must first win control of political
power and to do this they must organise as a political party. In
modern political conditions — the overwhelming numerical
superiority of the working class, universal suffrage, political
democracy, an army and civil service recruited from the workers —
the working class can, and should, use elections and parliament as
the way to winning power for socialism. A socialist party should
contest elections whenever it can, but only on a socialist programme.
Where there are no socialist candidates, a socialist party should
advocate the casting of blank or spoiled voting papers. Why not make
a statement rather than stay silent. All you have to do is write
across your ballot paper ‘World Socialism’.
A vote’s always worth using, even when there’s nobody worth
voting for.